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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30017502">The Ray Women</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terr/pseuds/Terr'>Terr</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Couple &amp; the Others [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Open Heart (Visual Novels)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, also!!, first I LOVE YOU between ethan and chiara, mentions of Chiara's background, therefore mentions of death, tw: death (mentioned)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:08:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,215</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30017502</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terr/pseuds/Terr</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ethan and Chiara visit her family in San Francisco for the first time.<br/>Set in the renovations period between Book 2 and Book 3.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Couple &amp; the Others [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026955</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Ray Women</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ethan let out a long exhale as soon as they stepped out of the airport hall and he felt the first rays of San Francisco sun on his skin.</p><p>There were several reasons why he never considered to leave Boston and its reasonable climate was most definitely big part of those reasons. Boston was… normal. Bearable. San Francisco was hot and the wind was barely there and the sun was too bright and-</p><p>He turned his head to look at Chiara and decided to snap his mouth shut before he could mutter something about the hell being colder.</p><p>Chiara, with the wide smile on her face and eyes closed, the whole face turned up to absorb as many of those annoying rays as possible, looked exactly as she should at the moment. Like she was finally home. </p><p>It was no secret that Chiara loved warm weather and complained about the one in Boston for the good part of the year <em>(„How does your ass not freeze in this damn city?“)</em> and until this moment, Ethan didn’t really think about it. But now, the situation was reversed and only now he realized that he would most likely never agree to live in San Francisco, because he wouldn’t bear the heat.</p><p>And Chiara was undoubtedly dedicated to stay with him in Boston, even though she could hardly bear the cold.</p><p>„Why are you staring at me?“ she opened her eyes suddenly and tilted her head slightly to get a better look at Ethan.</p><p>Deciding not to get into discussion about weather and how it spoke volumes about the difference between them – especially not now, when Diana was about to come to pick them up any minute – Ethan answered with a statement that was not at all untrue.</p><p>„Because you are beautiful.“</p><p>Chiara let out an amused laugh at that and squeezed the hand she was holding, but it didn’t escape Ethan’s notice that her cheeks flushed and not from the shining sun.</p><p>The moment of silence and unspoken confessions between them was quickly interrupted by a delighted shriek coming from behind them and arms – bare arms that didn’t look bare because of the tattoo sleeves decorating them, Ethan noticed - wrapped around Chiara’s shoulders just a moment after.</p><p>„Alicia!“ Chiara screamed when she turned around and hugged her sister tightly, the moment lasting long enough for Ethan to absorb the only Ray he hasn’t yet had a chance to meet.</p><p>Chiara talked about her younger sister a lot ever since they agreed to visit San Francisco – or rather, she <em>warned</em> him about Alicia.</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>„She is wild.“</p>
</blockquote><blockquote>
  <p>„Should that surprise me?“ Ethan didn’t even bother to look up from his medical journal. „She is your sister.“</p>
  <p>„Oh no, you don’t get it. She is really wild. Alicia is the copy of my mother, the exact younger version of her. And she is… she is out of this world. The laws of nature do not apply to her. She is loud and gestures too much and speaks her mind too freely and she doesn’t walk, she bounces and she… she is <em>wild</em>, Ethan.“</p>
</blockquote><p>And it went like this for weeks. Even the flight from Boston was filled with Chiara’s occasional <em>„please do not be surprised</em>“ and „<em>it is who she is, it is nothing personal</em>“.</p><p>Ethan met Diana once before, although the circumstances were so tense they both tried to forget it. Chiara was fighting for her life and the whole hospital was fighting to find a cure in time – and Diana flew to Boston, her voice shaking and eyes wide and she pleaded, <em>begged</em> Ethan to save her daughter because she wouldn’t survive losing another child.</p><p>Neither of them wanted the first meeting to be that way, but life had its own way in creating surprises and so Ethan knew that Chiara inherited her mother’s hair but not her eyes‘ color, he knew what her voice sounded like and that she loved her children more than life.</p><p>All that Diana remembered about Ethan from those three days she spent in Boston back in November was that his voice was soothing and calm while his eyes were terrified and just as pleading as her words and that he managed to save her little girl.</p><p>Chiara didn’t lie when she said that Alicia was a copy of Diana – her hair, just as Chiara’s – were the color of a summer sky seven minutes before the sun set completely, but unlike her mother’s or sister’s, hers were not falling on her shoulders in soft waves. Her hair were much longer, falling almost to her waist in dozens of dreadlocks. Several piercings on her face – her lower lip, her eyebrow and her nose – attracted attention and Ethan had to fight his sudden urge to ask her if the upper part of her body is hot and her feet are cold when he noticed her outfit, made of a tank top and high-waisted shorts combined with black leather boots.</p><p><em>She is barely 20</em>, he kept telling himself, an obvious explanation of the difference in their points of view. <em>And she is wild,</em> as Chiara reminded him so many times.</p><p>„So you must be the famous Dr. Ramsey, huh?“ Alicia turned to Ethan so fast he almost didn’t manage to look away from her. „Nice to finally meet you… <em>in person</em>.“</p><p>She winked at Chiara at that, earning herself an annoyed glare from Chiara, something Ethan wasn’t used to seeing often.</p><p>„Ethan is just fine,“ Ethan nodded, shaking Alicia’s hand – as impossible as it felt, even smaller than Chiara’s. „It is very nice to meet you too, Alicia.“</p><p>Alicia didn’t even try to be subtle as she took Ethan in and he tried his best to hold her gaze, to not give her any reason to doubt him as the right person for Chiara.</p><p>Finally, Alicia sighed dramatically, the sound that startled Ethan visibly, as he had not a single clue of what that sigh was supposed to mean – did he disappoint her already?</p><p>„Mom was supposed to pick you up but she had some work to finish in the atelier, so she sent me.“</p><p>She turned on her heel at that and without sparing as much as another glance, led the couple to her car.</p><p>And saying that Ethan was nervous would be an enormous understatement.</p><p>*** *** ***</p><p>Whether Alicia set up some kind of test on Ethan and he passed or she was just trying to make him feel uncomfortable – knowing rather well that nobody else would – and it stopped being fun, Ethan didn’t know. He knew, however, that there was no trace of tension or hostility in Alicia’s behavior from the moment they stepped into the house.</p><p>By the time Diana came home and joined them, Ethan has seen the whole spectrum of Chiara’s annoyed glares, along with her embarassing teen-years photos and love letters she wrote to Milo Ventimiglia when she was eleven, believing that he would read them one day.</p><p>„She‘s always had a thing for older men,“ Alicia winked at Ethan at some point and part of him wanted to feel embarassed, but it took one look into Chiara’s diary filled with <em>Keanu + Chiara</em> or <em>Chiara Reeves</em> notes and yes, Alicia was right.</p><p>Chiara has always had a thing for older men. (And he should be glad.)</p><p>Sitting in a cosy living room, Ethan didn’t feel uncomfortable, not in the slightest. He felt welcomed and overly happy that he finally had something to tease Chiara with in return.</p><p>The room was bright and filled with so many photos, Ethan felt like in an art gallery for a moment. There were pictures on the ledge of a fireplace, on the walls and on every shelf. Pictures of babies and toddlers and kids, all with the same red hair and wide smiles; wedding pictures of Chiara’s parents; pictures of a man Ethan never got to know but recognized in an instant, the greenness in his eyes so well imprinted to Ethan’s mind, as Dorian’s oldest daughter was the only child to inherit the colour.</p><p>Pictures of a happy family, of a family Ethan so long wished to have and that was took away from him at the age of eleven. With an ache squeezing his heart, he realized that Alicia was barely thirteen when the happiness of their family was taken away from her. Just a child, just as he was all those years ago.</p><p>„Dorian would love to talk to you, if he was here,“ Diana smiled at Ethan, breaking his thoughts.</p><p>„He would?“</p><p>„I am sure,“ she nodded, the smile not – never – leaving her face. „He always missed a rational brain in this house – I am an artist with my body and my soul, my head always somewhere far away, ignoring the basic laws of this world. He would be so delighted to talk about science and medicine with you and I am sure by the end of your stay, he would just nod and nod and say <em>„A good man, this one“</em>, without even trying to give you the typical talk about his precious daughter deserving only the best,“ she laughed at that and Ethan tried to laugh too, but the lump in his throat made the task impossibly hard.</p><p>It has been seven years in which the Ray women had to learn to live their lives without Dorian and Liam, but the way they talked about them today, with so much love and gratitude, it made Ethan feel as if they never truly left the house.</p><p>„Yes, and I would just ask him something like <em>Dad, aren’t you gonna fight for me?</em>, and he would just laugh and tell me that he didn’t buy Dr. Ramsey’s book all those years ago just to scare him off now,“ Chiara chuckled.</p><p>After exchanging some more stories of Chiara’s childhood, Diana decided to start cooking a dinner and just as she was leaving the room, she said: „You kids stay here and catch up some more,“ which was an innocent statement, truly, but it left Ethan feeling rather awkward – was he supposed to leave with her or did she count him as a kid too? Considering the fact that his age was closer to Diana’s than Alicia’s, he could hardly be sure about anything.</p><p>In the end, he stayed with the sisters that seemed like they were not physically capable of <em>not talking, </em>the only moment of silence falling over the room when Alicia left to make them all a coffee.</p><p>But it didn’t last long and for a moment Ethan wondered if Chiara has talked that much naturally and only learned to control herself around him.</p><p>Was he changing her personality?</p><p>„I met Marc the other day,“ Alicia spoke again while handing Chiara her coffee, her tone light.</p><p>Ethan felt his jaw tense at the mention of Chiara’s ex boyfriend name and despite himself, he held his breath while waiting to see Chiara’s reaction.</p><p>„You did?“ Chiara asked with her eyebrow raised, sipping the hot beverage slowly. „How is he?“</p><p>„Handsome as always,“ Alicia smirked, sighing dramatically again. At this point, it didn’t even startle Ethan anymore. „He still looks like Harry Styles with those long hair.“</p><p>Ethan has never heard the name Harry Styles before but seeing Chiara’s amused grin and the way she just playfully bumped Alicia’s shoulder with hers – and that was the only reaction she gave away at Alicia’s description of her handsome ex – Ethan slowly, subtly took his phone out of his pocket and seeing that the Ray sisters paid him no attention, he decided to do his research on who the famous Marc resembled.</p><p>Harry Styles was… young. And rather good looking. With the dark hair and bright eyes, it would be easy to say that Chiara had a type (if Marc really look like <em>that</em>), but that was not enough to calm down that weirdly uncomfortable feeling that tried to raise up his throat.</p><p>Marc was as old as Chiara and it was no secret that even all those years after the break-up, the two were rather friendly. And he looked like this Harry Styles guy.</p><p>As much as Ethan hated to admit it, there was a name for that feeling, the name known to him but no, he was not-</p><p>He shouldn’t feel jealous of Chiara’s ex.</p><p>But Marc was young and handsome and did Chiara feel the need to talk less around him, less than she wanted? Did Chiara feel that need with Ethan?</p><p>This was stupid, Ethan knew. Chiara chose him and that should have been enough.</p><p>But Marc probably didn’t hate San Franciso’s weather as much as Ethan did.</p><p>Ethan became so lost in his own stupid, not at all rational thoughts, that he didn’t notice how Chiara left the room to help Diana in the kitchen. He only noticed Alicia’s intense gaze on him, amused smirk on her lips and maybe there was a trait that both Ray sisters carried proudly, maybe Alicia’s ability to observe was just as great as Chiara’s and maybe – probably – she knew exactly what was on Ethan’s mind at that moment.</p><p>*** *** ***</p><p>„So what do you say?“ Chiara couldn’t help but ask the moment she closed the door.</p><p>It was not that she wanted her mother to tease or test Ethan, but was her family really giving up on her so easily? Were they all just ready to give Ethan their blessings and wishes of luck with Chiara, without as much as making sure his intentions are pure?</p><p>It was not fair towards him, she knew. Alan has been nothing but kind and exceptionally nice to her, always. And Bryce did make Ethan sweat at the stupid brunch all those weeks ago.</p><p>Still, she just wanted to see him flush and stutter. Just once. Just for fun.</p><p>“He is as handsome as the pictures you have been sending,” Diana grinned at her oldest child over her shoulder. “Maybe even more in person.”</p><p>“You know that is not what I am asking,” Chiara whispered, not wanting Ethan to hear the conversation. It was not that she didn’t agree with her mother, but anyone could appraise Ethan’s good looks. And Diana was not anyone - her opinion mattered to Chiara more than she’d like to admit.</p><p>“I know Ethan is a great man for you, darling. He makes you smile so much I can see these little wrinkles around your eyes,” Diana gestured at the corner of Chiara’s right eye, too close for Chiara’s liking considering she was holding a knife in her hand. “For so long I have only seen dark circles around them. Anyone who can make you this happy is more than welcome in our family.”</p><p>Chiara exhaled softly and watched her mom cut the vegetables, mulling over her next words in her head.</p><p>Before she could decide on what to say next, however, Diana smirked and spoke again.</p><p>“Not that I was worried. I spoke to Bryce few weeks ago. About you and Ethan. And he made it clear that your relationship is one he approves of.”</p><p>„You did what?“</p><p>It shouldn’t surprise her, she knew. Bryce and Diana called each other so often at this point, Chiara was pretty sure Bryce asked Diana for an advice before his own date last time he went on one.</p><p>„Yes, he called me after that lunch you all have had back in December? Or was it January? I am not sure, but it was the first time Ethan joined you and your friends.“</p><p>
  <em>That damn brunch. </em>
</p><p>„He called you to let you know that he roasted Ethan already and so that you do not need to do that?“ Chiara chuckled, putting her question as a joke.</p><p>„Exactly!“ Diana exclaimed happily and unlike her child, she was not joking.</p><p>„And you just… believe him?“</p><p>Diana shrugged, turning to Chiara wholly now, her smile only partly amused. Mostly soft and affectionate.</p><p>„You know I love Bryce as my own kid. I know you love him as your own brother. Has Bryce ever hurt you?“</p><p>Chiara shook her head without any hestitation because no, no matter how many people did hurt her – Ethan included – Bryce never did. Never.</p><p>„He wants you to be happy and he would never let you date anyone who wouldn’t make you so. And I wouldn’t either. Ethan makes you happier than I have ever seen you, Chiara, and that is all a mother needs. For her children to be happy.“</p><p>Not needing to hear more, Chiara wrapped Diana in a tight hug, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.</p><p>„And he looks damn good, too,“ Diana whispered into her hair before any of them could start to cry.</p><p>*** *** ***</p><p>Ethan was standing at the desk in Chiara’s old room, smiling softly at yet another photo of a wide-eyed, smiling redhead child with a hefty book in her hand. The plan for the second day of their visit was to see all of Chiara’s favorite spots in the city.</p><p>„Uhm, Ethan?“ Chiara’s voice resounded from behind his back and it was the unfamiliar hitch in it that made Ethan turn around rapidly to face her.</p><p>„Yes?“</p><p>„I… this is stupid probably and I will totally get it when you won’t want to go but, uh,“ she took a deep breath, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides, tension around her almost visible.</p><p>„There is one place I want to go to before we start the day and it would mean so much to me if you wanted to go with me but it is probably very morbid from me to want you to go and-„ the words left her mouth at such crazy pace they almost sounded like one very long word instead.</p><p>And suddenly, it became very clear what she was trying to say, even though she didn’t know how to go on.</p><p>With two steps Ethan closed the gap between them and gently put her hair behind her ear.</p><p>„Let’s go,“ was all he whispered before taking her hand and letting Chiara lead their way.</p><p>Chiara asked Ethan to give her a few minutes of solitude with her dad and brother and left him to stand under the huge oak tree while she sat down slowly, gently in front of the grave she used to visit every day.</p><p>For a long moment, she didn’t even know what to say, how to start. If at all.</p><p>She just kept staring at her crossed legs, letting the tears to fall freely.</p><p><em>How could it be that she had the privilege to have eyes to stare with and legs to stare at, while the mere privilege to be alive was taken away from them?,</em> she wondered.</p><p>„Hi dad, Liam,“ she spoke at last, her voice just above a whisper.</p><p>Ethan didn’t want to eavesdrop. It was not polite, not appropriate, it was invading Chiara’s privacy.</p><p>It was also impossible not to do.</p><p>The place was small and quiet and the three he was standing under was too close to the place Chiara was sitting at and what was he supposed to do, <em>sing</em>? Whistle?</p><p>That would hardly be any more appropriate.</p><p>And so he heard everything Chiara said and he was sure he was not meant to hear any of that.</p><p>„Ethan is here with me,“ he heard her say. „I wanted you to finally meet him. I know the last time I was here, I was not overly happy about him, but he got back from the jungle and he is forgiven. So could you forget how I called him an utter asshole and just… be nice?“</p><p>Ethan’s whole body tensed and a regret washed over him like an icy shower. He couldn’t be anything but ashamed by the fact that Chiara already shared him at this place and that she probably hated him at the time.</p><p>„You would love him, dad. He is so smart, like, <em>genius </em>smart. As smart as you were. And he respects me more than anyone has ever respected me before. You always said that if the man does not respect my career, he does not deserve me, dad and if that is true, then nobody deserves me as much as Ethan.“</p><p>He heard her chuckle and there was a long moment of silence before she spoke again and with some kind of internal terror Ethan realized that he didn’t even try to stop hearing what she was saying anymore.</p><p>„And I am sure you would like him too, Liam. He is a great target of jokes and teasing.“</p><p>Another silence.</p><p>And then Chiara said something Ethan so desperately wished he hadn’t heard, something that made him hate himself for listening and even more for what he heard and he just wanted to run away, far away and hate himself in hiding.</p><p>„You know… I cannot say this to him, because he is not very keen on this kind of things and I don’t want to scare him but guys, I love him so much.“</p><p>*** *** ***</p><p>Chiara didn’t know how many times she thanked Ethan that he visited the cemetery with her, but she was sure it was not enough to express how grateful she was.</p><p>The least she could do was to make sure that their next stop would be her absolutely most favourite coffee shop in San Francisco and Ethan would get his morning coffee just the way he liked it.</p><p>Something was off, however. Ethan was extremely quiet the whole time and even though she was used to his moods at this point, it surprised her here, <em>today</em>. It was kind of their vacation, their free time, something they both so desperately craved.  </p><p>Chiara could see that he was lost in his thoughts, brows furrowed and his gaze pointed somewhere behind the window. And doubts started overtaking her, because of course it was too much to take him to meet her dead father and brother. It would be too much for everyone.</p><p>Before she could decide on how to apologize for dragging him there, Ethan beat her to it and spoke first, although his gaze was still pointed elsewhere.</p><p>“I must apologize.”</p><p>Only then he turned to her and her confused raised eyebrow was the push he needed to finish the thought.</p><p>“For-“ he stopped, biting his cheek, mulling over his next words and by the expression on his face, even those he speaks next are not the ones he wished to find. “For making you feel like you cannot express yourself when you are with me.”</p><p>“Oh?” Chiara shook her head slightly, her confusion growing even bigger at the odd statement.</p><p>Ethan exhaled, suddenly aware of the place being rather empty. There were no groups of teenagers, no kids, nobody that would muffle his words and his wild heartbeat.</p><p>“I overheard some of the things you said to your dad back then,” he admitted slowly, softly, quietly and he was not proud of himself for not even trying to <em>not to</em> overhear it.</p><p>The confusion in Chiara’s eyes was quickly replaced by comprehension and just after that, panic.</p><p>“Oh,” this time, the sigh that left her was full of understanding.</p><p>It all clicked now. It all made sense and Chiara so desperately wished it didn’t, because she loves him and <em>he heard</em> and now he is scared.</p><p>She tried to come up with a response that would make everything make sense, her head starting to hurt from the pressure she put on her brain to <em>just come up with something, damnit.</em></p><p>Chiara opened her mouth several times without any sound leaving it and she was internally panicking and Ethan was not even looking at her.</p><p> Until suddenly he was.</p><p>“I love you too,” he blurted out, the words a little bit slurred.</p><p>The third “oh” that left Chiara’s was so soft, had there been the teenagers or the kids, Ethan would have missed it. But he didn’t.. He heard it and it took all of the air of his lungs away, because it was almost nothing, mere two letters and yet they carried such meaning it made his throat tighten.</p><p>“You do?” she whispered at last.</p><p>“Yes, I do.”</p><p>“And it doesn’t scare you?”</p><p>“God,” Ethan laughed, pulling her closer to him and putting a long, lingering kiss on her forehead. “It scares me more than anything has ever scared me before.”</p><p>Chiara laughed softly, her warm breath tickling Ethan’s neck and she pulled away just enough to tilt her head and look at him and in her eyes, those emerald greens, so warm, so soft, so beautiful, Ethan saw more than Chiara could say at the moment, in those depths he saw that this woman, his Chiara, his light, loved him more than anyone has ever loved him before and it warmed his chest in a way he didn’t recognize and it was that moment when he knew.</p><p>There was one thing that scared him more than love. Than being loved and loving Chiara.</p><p>Losing Chiara.</p><p>And he knew it then, he knew he would fight his fears of that unknown warm feeling every day, every second of those days until it didn’t scare him anymore, because losing Chiara was not an option. Not anymore, not ever.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this was the final part of this mini series - thank you so much for reading, leaving kudos and comments! Love you all.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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